“Mission of business pioneering group more vital than ever”
says Anson Chan
Video from the Cocktail Reception
PBEC added five new Board Members, including Boeing, Japan at its Annual General Meeting on June 16th. Bringing together the major aircraft manufacturers Airbus and Boeing at the leadership level of the same organization, and having Board representation from USA, Belgium, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Russia, Korea, Thailand, Australia, Mexico, and Colombia demonstrates the global relevance of PBEC's mission.
PBEC participates in the 11th ADB-OECD Anti Corruption Initiative in Manila
Held at the headquarters of the Asian Development Bank in Manila, the 11th ADB-OECD Anti Corruption Initiative went underway on May 27th-28th. The meeting included representatives from 28 governments in the Asia-Pacific region plus Afghanistan and Brunei Darussalam as observer countries.
Steering Group meeting at the ADB headquarters in Manila
PBEC has been a part of this important initiative since 1999, and is a part of the Advisory Group along with the American Bar Association, Asian Development Bank (ADB), Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), Transparency International, OECD Donor Assistance Committee (DAC) Governance Network (GOVNET) Anti-Corruption Task Team (ACTT), German Technical Cooperation (gtz), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
PBEC's Chief Operating Officer Nicklas Jonow delivered the report and commended the participants for their work in this region.
PBEC's sister organization PECC (Pacific Economic Cooperation Council) released their first quarter 2008 State of the Region report today May 30th. In their economic outlook they highlight:
• The Pacific Economic Cooperation Council has revised downwards its forecast for growth in the Asia Pacific from our November forecast for 2008. We now forecast the region to grow at 3.7% this year compared to our earlier forecast of 4.9%
• Inflation is now a greater concern than it was 6 months ago with our forecast for CPI inflation increasing from 2.7% to 3.6% for 2008
• We have downgraded significantly our forecast for the US economy from 2.9 growth to just 1.0% for 2008. Forecasts for growth in almost all other economies of region have been downgraded.
• While we have also downgraded our forecast for 2009, we still expect the region as a whole to bounce back in 2009 with growth forecasted at 4.4%, again, the US economy plays a central role and is expected to recover and grow at 2.5%.
• As we stressed in our November forecast, the risks to the forecast are greater than they have since the tumultuous Asian Financial Crisis period.
• Although East Asia is gradually increasing internal consumption, the forecast for the region has been downgraded with net exports expected to be a drag on most of the region’s economies.
The conference opened with introductory remarks by Michael Toedman, International Managing Director of Business Week, Li Zibin, president of China Association of Small and Medium Business and Dr. Vachara Phanchet, Chairman of the Pacific Basin Economic Council (PBEC), followed by a welcoming address by the Forum’s Chairperson, Her Excellency, Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi, Minister of Foreign Trade, Government of United Arab Emirates.
The two morning sessions were devoted to a lively discussion of de-coupling and a keynote address by His Highness Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al-Nahayan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research of the United Arab Emirates. In the former, the concept of de-coupling was examined in the context of an a precarious IT-driven financial system and economic infrastructure, whose vulnerability to unforeseen or unforeseeable events was underscored in terms of risk management. Only 20% of potential risk to system stability could be envisaged, leaving 80% to chance.
The CEO Challenge
Sustaining Growth, Expanding the Boundaries
15-16 April 2008 ♦ Jumeirah Emirates Towers, Dubai This event is complimentary for PBEC Members
In association with: Dubai School of
Government
China co-host: China Association of
Small and Medium
Enterprises
Strategic Partners: Iskandar Region
Development Authority
Standard Chartered Bank
Official PR Partner: NettResults
Supporting Organizations: FORSA
Hill & Associates
MAC Capital
Monitor Group
Bangkok Airways
Debevoise and Plimpton
Bangkok Dusit Medical Hospital
Bliss-Tel Public Company
Trinity Group
Media Partners: BusinessWeek Al-Arabiya
CNBC Arabia
Gulf Business
Zawya
Al Eqtisadiah
Global Enterpreneur
Platts
Featured Member - Spring 2008 Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC)
In the Spring 2008 issue of the PBEC Update we featured PBEC Member - DIFC and its Chief Economist Dr. Nasser Saidi in an abbreviated interview. To view the entire interview and profile please click the read more link below. To view/download the Spring 2008 Issue of the PBEC Update, click here
In strategic partnership with: Island Shangri-la, Hong Kong - 21 January 2008
In this first event of 2008 we had gathered an expert panel of industry resources for a half-day dialogue to identify key influencers that will shape the course of 2008
The event was very well received by the 80+ participants and 11 media representatives for this half-day event. Christopher Graves moderated the event and in true PBEC form made sure the panelists did not provide canned responses, but rather a frank discussion of the health of the global and regional economy. The issues raised whether the US and Asia were in fact beginning to de-couple or becoming more tightly integrated were especially timely as the Hang Seng Index and others were plunging on the fears of a US recession the very same day. A PBEC first was the use of live electronic polls which provided the audience with an opportunity to weigh in on questions posed, with instant answers provided on the screens for further discussions..
The participants also received the latest report from Standard & Poor's Asia-Pacific Markets Outlook and the 2007-2008 State of the Region Report recently released by the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council.
PECC - State of the Region 2007-2008 Rapport - Link
PECC - State of the Region 2007-2008
"The Asia Pacific region will experience slower economic growth in 2008, but is likely to avoid a sharp downturn due to the sub-prime mortgage crisis in the United States, according to the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council’s annual State of the Region Report."
To view the report in its entirety; please visit the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council’s website HERE.
Report Published December 13, 2007.
PECC is a partnership of business, government, and academics serving as a regional forum for cooperation and policy coordination. www.pecc.org
PBEC Joins United Nations Global Compact
Launched in 2000, the UN Global Compact brings business together with UN agencies, labor, civil society and governments to advance ten universal principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption.
Georg Kell, Executive Director of the Global Compact noted that “The Pacific Basin Economic Council is the only Global Business Association headquartered in Asia participating in the Global Compact, and the first participant to focus on these issues exclusively from an Asia-Pacific perspective.”
PBEC's sister organization PECC (Pacific Economic Cooperation Council) released their first quarter 2008 State of the Region report today May 30th. In their economic outlook they highlight:
Launched in 2000, the UN Global Compact brings business together with UN agencies, labor, civil society and governments to advance ten universal principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption. 
